North Atlantic warming over six decades drives decreases in krill abundance with no associated range shift

Abstract

Martin Edwards et al. use data spanning from 1958–2017 from the Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey of the North Atlantic Ocean to examine krill distribution and abundance in conjunction with sea surface temperatures and show a 50% decline in surface krill abundance with no associated range shift. These data show that where the northern and southern distributions were previously separated by 8° of latitude, they are now separated by 4°, indicating a warming-induced range constriction.